t 173 ] 
Nor have I ever seen from ten to forty acres of 
vineyard without this accompanyment. At Arbois 
in Franche Comte, the best wine of a particular 
species is made from the grape, after the frost has 
touched it, and so also (as I am informed by count 
Rumford) is the best wine made in Germany. This 
fact perhaps might enable us to make good wine 
from our frost grape, from which I have indeedi 
made some that is now seven years old, is a strong, 
rich, but hard wine ; perhaps had the frost passed 
over the grape, might have lost this imperfection. 
The manner in which the wine is made differs from 
what I had supposed, and may be usefully commu¬ 
nicated to those who wish to try experiments upon 
the grapes of our country. 
The grapes when gathered are put into very 
large vats, without being broken or pressed ; the 
vats are shut up so as to be kept at a certain 
temperature ; here they ferment and break, the 
juice runs out; this is drawn off and carried in the 
neighborhood of Paris, in baskets of withes (which 
are made so tight as to hold water) to the cask, 
where it undergoes a further fermentation, which 
is stopped at a proper period, this makes the wine 
of the first quality. When no more will run, men 
go naked into the vat, and stamp the grapes with 
their feet, what is drawn off from this is very in¬ 
ferior ; after which they press the grapes, which 
makes the last and worst quality, and is generally 
the perquisite of the ’^igneron, 
Y 
